So, there's this petition going around asking that Bert and Ernie -- yes, the yellow and orange dudes from Sesame Street-- get gay married. You know, like Elton John and DavidFurnish. Though I suspect if B and E ever did have a wedding, the guest list wouldn't be half as fab, the food would be kind of dry, and the music would be that awful kind that stays in your head for days. (I'll be here all week.)

The petition, which is coming from Change.org, is asking that the two puppets tie the knot on the show in a "tasteful way" in order to teach kids tolerance of those who are different.

Great message. Utterly stupid idea.

Before I unleash my opinions on this matter, you should know that Sesame Street is not going ahead with the marriage. A spokesperson for the show insisted that the pair are simply "best friends with no sexual orientation." They also pointed out that the characters were "created to teach preschoolers that people can be good friends with those who are very different from themselves." To that, I say, "Amen."

Anyone who knows me -- or reads anything I write here on The Stir -- knows that I'm all for gay marriage and anything that will aid in tolerance; and am ardently against hatred, homophobia, and fear-mongering. But having Bert and Ernie marry one another is just plain stupid. They're puppets. They bicker, sing songs, and teach kids how to count. They -- and the rest of the characters on the show -- shouldn't be marrying anyone, girl or boy.

Getting Sesame Street to teach acceptance of different people is a fine concept -- one the show has already demonstrated, and for that, I applaud them. But there doesn't need to be a wedding between two characters in order to do this. Do kids watching the show even know what marriage is? Would they think twice if they saw two men hugging, as opposed to two women? My guess is no. Gay weddings are better served on more high brow shows, where the audience will actually understand the message.

Although there have been great strides recently in the gay community (yay, New York!), we still have a long way to go before everyone is in complete and total acceptance of homosexuality. And we should do things to try to change that. This, however, isn't one of those things. Because this is just silly.